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September 29, 2010

NIAC Welcomes Obama Effort Targeting Human Rights Abusers in Iran

For Immediate Release
Contact: Phil Elwood
Phone: 202-423-7957
Email: [email protected]

Washington, DC – The National Iranian American Council welcomes President Obama’s signing of an Executive Order that imposes targeted sanctions on Iranian government officials responsible for human rights abuses against the Iranian people.

“Human rights must be elevated as a top priority in the Obama Administration’s Iran policy and today’s Executive Order is a step in the right direction,” said Jamal Abdi, NIAC Policy Director. “The Iranian-American community is deeply concerned by the continued suffering of the Iranian people and Iran’s ongoing human rights crisis. While NIAC has consistently opposed broad sanctions that punish innocent Iranians, we strongly support targeted measures aimed squarely at those responsible for human rights violations against the Iranian people.”

The Executive Order signed today is based on H.R. 4303, the Stand With the Iranian People Act. The bill, introduced in December 2009 in the House of Representatives, comprised several measures to address human rights in Iran, including a travel ban and asset freezes against Iranian government officials responsible for human rights abuses. The proposal was later adapted and incorporated into a sanctions package that was signed into law by the President this past July.

The Executive Order imposes a visa ban on eight Iranian government officials cited as having committed human rights abuses and freezes any assets held in the US or by US persons that belong to these individuals. The President is required to update this list on a periodic basis.

NIAC encourages the White House to update the list regularly as evidence against other human rights abusers comes forward. NIAC also encourages the White House to work with other countries around the world to enact similar restrictions.

The individuals named today are: Mohammad Ali Jafari, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); Sadeq Mahsouli, Minister of Welfare and Social Security and former Minister of the Interior; Qolam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, Prosecutor- General of Iran and former Minister of Intelligence; Saeed Mortazavi, former Prosecutor-General of Tehran; Heydar Moslehi, Minister of Intelligence; Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, Minister of the Interior and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces for Law Enforcement; Ahmad-Reza Radan, Deputy Chief of Iran’s National Police; and Hossein Taeb, current Deputy IRGC Commander for Intelligence and former Commander of the IRGC’s Basij Forces.

 

 

 

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